Massachusetts makes it 50 and still running

Boston Marathon® to mark a marathon in every state for cancer survivor

April 16, 2009

Edwin (Win) Apel ran his first few marathons almost as a lark. But it was not until he was diagnosed with cancer that he began taking his marathons to a whole new level.

Determined to be a survivor rather then a victim, Apel resolved to run a marathon (or ultra marathon) in every state and on every continent.

He has now run 66 marathons, including on six continents and in 49 states. Massachusetts is the remaining state, and he is thrilled to run the Boston Marathon on April 21 as a member of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Boston Marathon Challenge team. It is his first time running for a charity organization, and it is extremely fitting considering that cancer was part of the inspiration behind his journey. Apel will travel to Australia this July where he will fulfill his goal of running a marathon on every continent. In all, he will have traveled more than 131,000 miles to get to his races and will have logged more than 2,000 miles running in the races, which included half marathons and an ultra marathon.

When recalling his past marathons, Apel finds it difficult to determine which has been the best or the toughest. In hindsight the most fun marathons were Chicago in 2005 and Portland (Ore.) in 2008. Apel ran these marathons with his youngest and oldest sons, respectively, both of whom happened to be running their first marathon.